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A picture of a sign outside St. John's Anglican Church in Niagara Falls that promotes inclusivity of homosexuals was posted on the social-media website Reddit and went viral online, garnering international public attention.
(RAY SPITERI Niagara Falls Review)

A picture of a sign outside an Anglican church in Niagara Falls that sends a message of inclusivity when it comes to homosexuality has gone viral online.

The billboard, which is outside St. John’s Anglican Church on Portage Rd., reads: “Jesus had two dads and he turned out just fine!”

An image of the sign caught worldwide attention this week after it was posted on the social-media website Reddit. That was followed by several articles in media outlets across Canada, the United States and Europe, including Huffington Post Canada, the Washington Times and United Kingdom’s The Independent.

As of this posting, the Reddit post has gained more than one-million views. It has received 15,965 positive votes and 14,385 negative votes. Nearly 450 people have posted comments about the sign.

According to Christian faith, Jesus is the son of God, but was partly cared for on Earth by his birth mother’s husband, Joseph.

St. John’s rector Lynne Marchant said a female member of the church is in charge of putting messages on that sign. Messages are usually up for about a week and often promote church-hosted banquets, services and events. Sometimes parishioners will give her ideas and statements that might catch people’s attention when they pass by the church.

Marchant, who is also archdeacon of the Brock Region within the Diocese of Niagara, said she doesn’t feel the need to give the woman the green light before a message is posted, adding “I trust her. She is a valued member of the church, a wonderful, caring woman.

“I think one of the parishioners had sent it to her,” Marchant said of the current message.

She said the woman is “overwhelmed” and “flabbergasted” by the widespread attention the message has garnered.

“I don’t find it offensive in any way. It has done a lot of healing by those who may feel slighted by the church.

“We have people in our congregation who are homosexual. We are an all-inclusive church, a family. No one cares what your sexuality is. Come on in, we don’t see any difference.”

St. Catharines teenager and gay-rights advocate Nicholas Bell said he’s the person behind the Reeb0k user name on Reddit who posted the picture.

The 16-year-old said he was sent a photo of the sign from a friend and decided to post it to his Reddit account.

“At first I didn’t think it would get much attention,” he said.

Bell, who is not a homosexual, said he sees nothing wrong with the sign and applauded the church for putting the message on the billboard.

“I’m not homophobic at all. I have friends who are homosexual. There’s nothing wrong with it,” he said.

“I just see it’s time the church get with the program and see that there is a whole other world out there.”

This is not the first time an Anglican church has caught the attention of the public for promoting a pro-gay message. A few weeks ago, an Australian church posted a statement outside its church that read: “Dear Christians, some people are gay. Get over it. Love, God.”